Lokalise

Overview

Lokalise provides a platform for managing the entire software localization workflow, from design to deployment. Founded in 2017, the system is designed to integrate into existing agile software development and CI/CD pipelines, supporting continuous localization rather than batch-based translation processes. This approach aims to reduce delays often associated with translating product interfaces and content for global markets. The platform targets development teams, product managers, and localization specialists who require efficient handling of diverse content types, including strings for mobile apps, web applications, and marketing materials.

Core to Lokalise's offering is its Translation Management System (TMS), which provides a centralized hub for managing translation keys, glossaries, style guides, and translation memory. This helps ensure consistency across different linguistic versions of a product. The platform also incorporates Lokalise AI, leveraging machine learning for translation suggestions and quality checks, aiming to augment human translation efforts rather than fully replace them. For designers, Lokalise Design tools allow integration with design platforms to pull strings directly from design files, helping to initiate localization earlier in the development cycle. Developers benefit from a comprehensive API and a range of SDKs, enabling programmatic access to translation data and automation of localization tasks, such as pushing new strings or pulling updated translations directly into source code repositories.

Lokalise is positioned for organizations that require a scalable solution for managing multilingual content, particularly those with frequent product updates. Its feature set supports collaboration among geographically dispersed teams, with role-based access controls and workflow management tools that help orchestrate the translation process. The emphasis on developer experience, with strong API documentation and support for various programming languages, makes it suitable for engineering-centric teams. The platform's compliance certifications, including SOC 2 Type II and ISO 27001, address security and data privacy concerns for enterprise users seeking to localize sensitive data and applications globally.

According to research by Forrester, the market for content localization services and technologies is driven by the increasing demand for global digital experiences, where effective localization can significantly impact customer engagement and market penetration. Platforms like Lokalise aim to address this demand by providing tools that make localization a parallel process to development, rather than a sequential bottleneck. Its commitment to integrating with version control systems and offering robust developer tools reflects an understanding of modern software development practices and the need for automation in localization workflows.

Key features

• Translation Management System (TMS): Centralized platform for managing translation keys, glossaries, style guides, and translation memory to maintain consistency across languages (Lokalise documentation).
• Lokalise AI: Utilizes artificial intelligence for translation suggestions, quality checks, and automated workflows, aiming to enhance translation efficiency.
• Lokalise Strings: Manages all text content (strings) for applications and websites, allowing for easy updates and version control.
• Lokalise Design: Integrates with design tools to extract strings directly from design files, enabling early-stage localization and reducing manual effort.
• Developer API & SDKs: Provides a comprehensive REST API and SDKs for JavaScript, PHP, Ruby, Python, Java, Go, Flutter, React Native, Swift, and Kotlin, enabling automation of localization tasks (Lokalise API reference).
• Integrations: Offers integrations with various platforms including design tools (e.g., Figma, Sketch), development tools (e.g., GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket), and content management systems (CMS).
• Workflow Automation: Configurable translation workflows, role-based access, and task management to streamline the localization process.
• Quality Assurance: Built-in QA checks, spell checkers, and consistency checks to ensure translation accuracy and quality.
• Collaboration Tools: Features for team collaboration, commenting, and real-time updates for translators, reviewers, and project managers.

Pricing

Lokalise offers tiered pricing structures based on features, number of users, and hosted translation keys. All plans are billed annually, with discounts for longer commitments. A 14-day free trial is available for evaluation.

Pricing as of May 2026. For the most current pricing details and feature comparisons, refer to the Lokalise pricing page.

Common integrations

• Design Tools: Figma, Sketch, Adobe XD (Lokalise design tool integrations).
• Version Control Systems: GitHub, GitLab, Bitbucket, Azure DevOps (Lokalise VCS integrations).
• Content Management Systems (CMS): WordPress, Contentful, Sanity.io.
• Project Management: Jira, Trello, Asana.
• Communication: Slack, Microsoft Teams.
• Machine Translation Engines: DeepL, Google Translate, Amazon Translate.
• CI/CD Pipelines: Jenkins, CircleCI, Travis CI (through API and CLI tools).

Alternatives

• Crowdin: A cloud-based localization management platform offering similar features for project management, collaboration, and API access.
• Smartling: An enterprise-grade translation management system known for its automation capabilities and strong integrations with content platforms.
• Phrase: Provides a comprehensive localization suite, including a TMS and string management, with a focus on developer experience and integrations.
• Transifex: Another cloud-based localization platform known for its developer-friendly API and support for continuous localization.
• MemoQ: A desktop and server-based translation environment popular among professional translators and language service providers.

Getting started

To begin using Lokalise, you would typically integrate its SDK or API into your development workflow. The following Python example demonstrates fetching project languages using the Lokalise Python SDK.

from lokalise.client import Client

# Initialize the Lokalise client with your API token
# Replace 'YOUR_API_TOKEN' with your actual Lokalise API token
client = Client('YOUR_API_TOKEN')

# Replace 'YOUR_PROJECT_ID' with the ID of your Lokalise project
project_id = 'YOUR_PROJECT_ID'

try:
    # Fetch project languages
    languages = client.languages(project_id)

    print(f"Languages for project {project_id}:")
    for lang in languages:
        print(f"- {lang['lang_name']} ({lang['lang_iso']})")

except Exception as e:
    print(f"An error occurred: {e}")

Before running this code, ensure you have installed the Lokalise Python SDK:

pip install python-lokalise-api

You will need to obtain an API token from your Lokalise account settings and the project ID from your Lokalise project dashboard (Lokalise API documentation).